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Arugula, Watermelon and Avocado Salad with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette

Last weekend, while my BFF was in town, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Mana Food Bar, a small plates-style vegetarian restaurant in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. One of the items we ordered was the arugula, tomato and avocado salad, and we both agreed that it was one of our favorite dishes of the night.

I decided to put my own spin on that salad by swapping the tomato with some juicy, refreshing watermelon (because what says summer more than watermelon?), and giving the dressing a kick of spice with some cayenne pepper.

Let’s just say it’s total summer yum.

Arugula, Watermelon and Avocado with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette

What you need:

5 ounces arugula, washed and spun dry

2 cups cubed seedless watermelon

1 avocado, cubed

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

The juice of 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper

How you do it:

In a large salad bowl, toss the arugula and watermelon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Add cubed avocado to the vinaigrette and toss very (very!) gently. This step prevents the avocado from browning in the salad.

Add vinaigrette and avocado to the salad bowl and lightly toss to combine. Top salad with freshly cracked pepper before serving.

What a unique and delicious combination of ingredients – I love watermelon this time of year for its refreshing taste but also its lycopene content which is a natural skin protector. Lovely recipe! Thank you.

I’m so glad you’re as obsessed with fruit-based salads as I am this summer…I’ve been actively trying to make myself switch it up…but they’re just so darn good. This one, especially! I haven’t tried watermelon yet, but I bet its texture works really well with avocado.